


How Can We Help

by RiBread



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene, One Shot, Panic Attacks, takes place around the end of episode 66 - beginning of 67, the rest of vox machina is here too but they don't have speaking roles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:26:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21690904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiBread/pseuds/RiBread
Summary: In the aftermath of A Traveler's Gamble, it becomes clear Ripley has returned.Percy does not handle this well.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	How Can We Help

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this basically right after finishing episode 66 of campaign one like... a year ago, so it doesn't fit EXACTLY what happened. It's just a missing scene I would have liked to see. Enjoy!

It was clear to the other members of Vox Machina that Percy was not dealing with this well.

Upon seeing the bullet wounds, he had gone paler than usual, and though he claimed with his usual bravado that this being Ripley’s work was the best case scenario, his face and movements told quite a different story. They watched, unsure what to do as he angrily trashed the room. It was easy to categorize it as his normal frustration, like when a project didn't go right, but the movements were strangely stiff, like his body was going through the process of anger but his mind was far, far, away.

They’d seen Percy having a panic attack before, and he was clearly not far from it. After being blinded in the feywild he had dropped to the ground, rocking, one hand clasped over his mouth as he gestured with the other for them to leave him be, to give him a moment to calm down. He’d pulled himself out of it quickly, after they got Keyleth to quiet down, although the situation had been alarming for everyone involved.

This looked similar at first glance, but was clearly a different circumstance. They could see him rocking slightly where he stood, rubbing shaking hands over his face and mouth and then forcing them down again. His fingers played across the base of his pistol, the one taken from Ripley’s room, as he stared into the distance. To the rest of the party, this looked like a slow-burn version of his meltdown in the Feywild, and unlike before he wasn’t pulling himself out of it. No, instead he seemed to pull further and further away even as they left the dead woman’s room and headed back into town.

Upon returning to the room he’d been sharing with Scanlan in the Debt’s Respite, the gnome was actually the one to witness what had been building ever since he had set eyes on the all too familiar puncture wounds on the corpse. As soon as the door shut behind them, he slid to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut, shaking like a leaf and drawing his limbs into a tight ball around his head and torso.

“It’s her. Oh gods, it’s her. She’s been— FUCK, she’s been following me. Oh gods—“ his voice broke off into a low, keening, moan, and he clasped a hand over his mouth, breathing heavily, trying to keep his moment of weakness as silent as possible. Scanlan bit his lip- Vex had said before quiet was best for this sort of thing, but almost any helpful thing he knew how to do would only add more noise. He settled for sitting nearby on the bed, not quite looking at Percy, but close enough to help if he needed it.

It was hard not to feel useless in those horrible moments of silence broken only by the creaking of the floorboards as Percy rocked and his shuddering breathing. However, slowly, even these sounds grew quiet, and Scanlan knew Percy would be up again in a minute, trying to pretend the panic never happened. Surreptitiously, the bard began to hum a quiet, calming, tune- the least he could do was inspire the man, to make the act easier for him.

After a few moments of silence, there was a sudden knock at the door. Both men jumped, Percy’s hand flying around his gun in an instinctual movement. There was quiet, and then-

“Darlings?”

Scanlan let out a sigh as he relaxed again.

“What is it, Vex?”

“I brought dinner up. I knew you were still… feeling down, about the spice, Scanlan.”

The bard allowed himself a small smile. Clearly, he wasn’t the only one trying to protect the fragile dignity of Percival de something von whatsit the third.

“Yes, well… it was only 50 gold, after all.”

Percy didn’t look up, but Scanlan could see him relax, letting go of the gun and leaning back against the wall. Scanlan took the meals through a cracked door, smiled at Vex in thanks, and set Percy’s on the floor next to him.

Sometimes, Vox Machina didn’t know exactly how to help each other. But somehow they managed to do it anyway.


End file.
